Tag: Korea

The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is to attend Friday's opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games, which are being held in the South, ministers in Seoul say.Kim Yo-jong, a senior Workers' Party official promoted to the politburo last year, will be the first immediate Kim family member to cross the border.Both Koreas will march under one flag at the opening ceremony.The North's participation has been seen as a thawing of bilateral ties.North Korea crisis in 300 wordsHowever, the US, Japan and others have accused the North of using the Games for propaganda purposes.Who is Kim Yo-jong?Believed to have been born in 1987, she is the youngest daughter of late leader Kim Jong-il and is Kim Jong-un's full sister. She is about four years younger than her brother and is sa...

SEOUL, South Korea, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- North Korean media has warned its relations with the South could suffer, heavily criticizing Seoul's position on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.The daily Rodong Sinmun, issued by the North's ruling Workers' Party, published a commentary on Sunday, blasting the South Korean Defense Minister's remark last week that "the North's leadership will be wiped off the map, should it use its nuclear weapons."Defense Minister Song Young-moo had said the South will "strongly respond to North Korea's provocations" while utilizing measures such as sanctions and talks to achieve denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.He called on the international community to "proactively implement sanctions" against the North which he said poses the "most serious and imminent" ...

SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 29 (UPI) --North Korea appears to have mobilized tens of thousands of troops and civilians for a massive military parade next week, South Korean officials said Monday.Earlier this month, Seoul detected 13,000 personnel near Pyongyang's Mirim Airport, training in what appeared to be a rehearsal for a military parade to mark the founding of the North Korean army on Feb. 8.However, the figure has risen to roughly 50,000 as of late, according to multiple officials in Seoul.One official said the parade is likely to include card stunts, given the large number of participants, and that there haven't been signs that indicate transporter-erector-launcher missile vehicles will be deployed at the event.North Korea's military parades usually showcase the regime's latest weapon...

SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- South Korea may decide to ship refined petroleum to North Korea to power an inter-Korean cultural event next week.A South Korean government official said Sunday that Seoul is currently considering the move as "the North's oil supplies aren't in good condition" but there has been criticism "this would go against the flow of international sanctions on Pyongyang."The inter-Korean event on Feb. 4 will likely take place at a cultural center in North Korea's Mt. Kumang region. The facility, which was built by a South Korean firm, runs on a diesel-fueled generator.South Korea had asked the North to provide the power to hold the concert, according to the government official.However, the North responded that it would be difficult as it faces an oil supply shorta...

NEW YORK, Jan. 26 (UPI) --North Korea's push for reconciliation with the South is being welcomed in the United States.But in the absence of a nuclear shift, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is not ruling out the possibility of a limited military strike, a former CIA analyst said Friday."They're not kidding about this, this is a policy option that is being considered," said Sue Mi Terry, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, during a talk delivered at The Korea Society. "All options are truly on the table right now."Terry was referring to a recent Wall Street Journal article that provided details regarding a debate in the Trump administration about whether a "bloody nose" surgical strike could be a viable option that could damage North Korea's we...